


Trying Again

by UnapologeticallyBaratheon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire, game of thrones
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnapologeticallyBaratheon/pseuds/UnapologeticallyBaratheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Robert Baratheon running for office, his brother and image consultant, Stannis, tries to make the Baratheon family seem, well... Functional. In an attempt to reconnect and involve him in their schemes, Stannis reaches out to the youngest Baratheon brother, their little brother Renly. Trouble is, they haven't spoken in six years. Dysfunction gets a whole new name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ring…

Ring….

Ring….

“Renly, your phone.” Loras called from the office

“I know. I’m ignoring it.” Renly called back

“Telemarketer?” He asked

“Worse, it’s my brother.” Renly said 

“Which one?” Loras asked “And shouldn’t you pick up, what if it’s an emergency?” 

“Stannis. And why would he call me if it’s an emergency?”

“What if somebody died?” Loras pointed out “Unless he thinks it’s Christmas, of course.” 

“He doesn’t call at Christmas anyway!” 

“Renly…” 

“Okay, fine.” There was a pause “What? Who died?”

Loras came into the room and leaned over the side of the couch to try and listen. He heard some indistinct mumbling on the other line. 

“Well you never call. What else would I assume?” Renly said, rolling his eyes.

“Just cut to the chase, what do you want?”

….

“Of course you want something. Just tell me.”

…

“What? Yeah, that’s not happening. Goodbye.” Renly clicked the phone off and threw it to another chair. It missed and smacked against the wall instead.

“What the hell was that?” Loras asked, brows furrowed 

“My brother trying to manipulate me by attempting to ‘patch things up’ between us.” Renly said “I am not doing that again.”

“Did he want to see you?” Loras asked. That would be surprising. A few years before Loras met him, Renly and his brothers had gotten into a massive fight and they hadn’t seen each other since. They had gotten onto ‘send a card at Christmas’ terms, but not much past that. He hadn’t even gone to any of their weddings. He’d send his nieces and nephews things for their birthdays and Christmas, but he had never met them. Renly wouldn’t even talk about what the fight was about, or really anything of his childhood with his brothers. 

“He wants me to come live out there.” Renly said “Both of us, actually.”

“In Boston? You’ve barely spoken to him in six years and suddenly he wants you to be his next-door neighbor?” Loras laughed “Why the hell would he want that?”

“I don’t know, but I bet he wants me for something.” Renly said “Like he thought we would actually come.”

“Well…” Loras said 

“Oh god, no. You are not seriously thinking about this.” Renly said, throwing his head back 

“I’m not saying we should go and live there! Just maybe visit..?” Loras said 

“No. I am not throwing myself into that family again. I will not go crawling back to them.” Renly insisted 

Loras, as stubborn as ever, wouldn’t drop it “They’re your family! Family is important, and obviously Stannis is serious about this if he wants you to come out there, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked.”

“My family isn’t important to me. They don’t deserve it.” 

“If one of my brothers begged me to come and move near them, you’d go, wouldn’t you?” Loras argued 

“Your brothers are different. Your family is different. You can’t go a week without calling eachother.” Renly said

“And not talking to them for six years and then ignoring them would be better? Renly, I think it would be good for you, I really do.” Loras said “Besides, it’s summer, you don’t have anything to do anyway.”

“You can’t very well take off of work all of a sudden.” Renly said 

“I have vacation days. I can take a week or two off, it hardly matters.” Loras said

Renly sighed “You aren’t going to let me skip this, are you?”

“No.” Loras laughed “Call Stannis back.”

“Fine. But you have way too much power over me.” Renly said, standing up and picking up his phone from the floor “A week.”

“A week.” Loras agreed. He smiled and headed into the kitchen to start dinner. If anything, this trip would be amusing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Baratheon family prepares for Renly's arrival, and the kids talk about what they think he's like, and Joffrey knows more than his sister and cousin.

Myrcella sat on the couch with her cousin. Around them, people were cleaning and fussing about flowers and what-not. Her father had gotten a text saying that his brother’s flight had just landed.

“What do we even know about uncle Renly?” Myrcella asked “I don’t think I’ve ever met him.”

“My dad said I met him when I was younger. I barely remember him though.” Shireen said “I know he’s a lot younger than them.”

“Dad said he stayed in contact with your dad longer than him.” Myrcella said “So I guess we never met him. Maybe Joffrey did. I hope he’s nice.”

Shireen nodded “I’m sure he is.”

Just then, Joffrey came and jumped into the spot next to his sister. Myrcella rolled her eyes “What are you doing interacting with humans?” she asked

“Shut up. You’re talking about the new uncle right?” He said. He had his typical smirk on his face

“What about it, jackass?” Myrcella asked 

“I heard mom and dad talking about him.” Joffrey said. He looked way too excited

“What did they say?” Shireen asked. She usually didn’t indulge her cousin, but she was interested in what happened with her uncle. Nobody ever talked about him in their family, but she knew that something happened a while ago to make him leave. 

“He’s bringing somebody with him.” Joffrey smirked

“What about it? He’s like 25, can’t he have a girlfriend?” Myrcella said “Maybe he’s getting married.”

“Not a girl.” Joffrey said, stifling laughter 

“What?” Myrcella said, raising her eyebrows 

“He’s gay! That’s why he left, dad found out.” Joffrey laughed “Kicked him out.”

“Oh come on, that didn’t happen.” Myrcella said “You’re lying.”

“I couldn’t make this shit up.” He said “He’s a total faggot.”

Shireen furrowed her brow at him “Stop it, he’s our uncle! Don’t call him that.”

“Oh shut up. Dad’ll say the same thing.” Joffrey said 

“Oh will I?” Robert said, coming into the living room. Joffrey seemed to shrink down a few sizes at the confrontation. 

“I was just-“

“I don’t care. Now I want you to listen to me. All of you. I haven’t seen my brother in a long time, and I will not have you disrespecting him.” He looked harshly at Joffrey 

“Dad… Is it true about him bringing somebody with him..?” Myrcella asked 

“Yes. And I’ve had… Trouble with his relationships before. But I am going to try and start again and make things better. Joffrey, you will keep your mouth shut about him and this… boy. Say nothing. He was sensitive about it at the best when he was younger.” 

Joffrey looked as if he was about to say something, but decided it was against his better judgment.

“Understood?”

“Understood.” Joffrey said grudgingly. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The plane ride was excruciatingly long. Loras fell asleep twice in the six hour flight, but Renly couldn’t. He kept staring out the window and wondering how he could get out of this reunion. He tapped his foot nervously as the pilot announced their decent at the Logan airport. Sleepily, Loras sat up from Renly’s shoulder. 

“You okay?” He asked 

“I’ll be fine.” Renly said, giving him a weak smile “Just every teenage insecurity I’ve ever had welling up at the thought of seeing them again.”

Loras took his hand “It’ll be alright, I promise.”

“How come you aren’t nervous? Meeting the family and all, it’s stressful.” 

“Yeah, but I’m perfect.” Loras laughed “I can charm anybody. Parents love me.”

“I’m sure they do. Unfortunately, there aren’t any parents to charm” Renly said “And Stannis has never been charmed.”

“I bet I can change that.” Loras smirked

Renly laughed “You obviously don’t know my brother all that well if you think you can do that.” 

“You underestimate my charms.” 

“Never.” Renly smiled and kissed Loras’ cheek. The plane had come to a stop at the terminal. “Well. Here goes nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear these will get longer as it progresses, but my attention span is horribly short


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renly and Loras arrive at the Baratheon home

The taxi dropped them off at the door of Renly's childhood home. Loras paid the driver and Renly glanced nervously at the door. Loras came up behind Renly as the cab drove off and put a hand on his shoulder. Renly picked up his bag and took a deep breath. 

"Alright. No turning back" He said, more to himself than Loras.

Renly went up the stairs and rang the doorbell before he could psych himself out. Loras stood behind him and gave him a reassuring smile.

They heard voices from behind the door and it swung open. 

There was Robert. My god he looked different.

"Robert, uh... Long time no see, I suppose." Renly said

"You grew a beard." Robert said, his tone betraying nothing.

Renly rubbed a hand over his face "Yeah, for a while now." he said. He gestured behind him "This is Loras" 

Loras put on a huge smile and came forward to shake his hand "Loras Tyrell, sir, great to meet you,"

After a tense second, Robert burst into laughter and embraced Renly

"Oh I'm messing with you, you think I'd act all cold after not seeing you for so long?"

"Yes actually..." Renly said, smiling a bit. 

They were ushered into the door and Robert boomed out

"Come on, he's here!" He yelled down a hallway.

First came out Cersei, Robert's wife, who Renly hugged lightly 

"Lovely to see you, Renly. You're looking well." She said

"Great to see you too. You're looking beautiful as ever." 

She gave him a thin lipped smile as the kids came in. Renly recognized them from Christmas card photos.

"Oh it's great to finally meet you three, lets see, Myrcella?" He said to the girl, who looked around thirteen. She nodded and smiled at him as he hugged her

"Joffrey, god you've gotten big!" He said, shaking his hand. The boy grimaced but shook it anyway

"And you must be little Tommen" he said to the youngest. Tommen was around eight. He hugged Renly happily. When that was done he turned to Robert

"Where's Stannis and them?" he asked

"They're around here somewhere, hold on." Robert said "Stannis, get your ass down here!" 

"I'm right here." Stannis snapped, coming out of the study. He looked Renly over, and then Loras.

"Great to see you, Stannis." He said, shaking his brother's hand 

"You look well." Stannis replied

"You too. Stannis, I'd like you to meet Loras Tyrell. He's the one I told you about on the phone."

"Great to meet you, Colonel Baratheon." Loras said, taking his hand. Narrowing his eyes, Stannis shook his hand.

"Where's Selyse? And Shireen?" 

"Selyse is sick, I'm afraid. Shireen is around here somewhere." he said

"I'll go get her! She was reading outside." Myrcella said

"Well lets all not crowd the doorway, come on in, make yourselves at home." Robert boomed. The lot of them filled into the large living room

"Did you have a good flight?" Robert asked

"Yeah, long, but good."

"Oh Seattle to Boston must be awful." Cersei said "how long is it, six hours?"

"At least." Renly said

"Anything to drink?" Robert asked

"Nothing for me, thanks."

"Loras?" 

"Water, if it's not too much trouble." He said

"Not at all. Tommen, go get him some water." Robert said to the youngest. He nodded happily and bounced off to the kitchen, passing Myrcella and Shireen on the way. 

Renly stood up and grinned at his niece. "My god, look how much you've grown!" He said, giving her a hug "I haven't seen you since you were ye high!" he gestured to his waist. 

Shireen was fourteen, and was the only niece he actually knew as a child. After the fight, Renly had stayed his senior year with Stannis and Selyse. Shireen had just been born, and soon grew sick with a form of exima that effected the entire left side of her face. The medicine the doctors used to treat it left it grey and tough to the touch. This made her an easy target for bullies as a child, so she was very shy and detached now. Renly had missed seeing her though. He had stayed in contact with Stannis for a lot longer than Robert, but eventually, Stannis asked him to leave. It had hurt, but Renly had gotten used to it after a while. 

"It's good to see you, uncle Renly" she said. Her voice was quiet, but kind. 

"You too." He said with a smile "Shireen, this is Loras" 

"Renly's told me all about you, I'm happy to meet you"

Shireen nodded happily and shook his hand. 

"So what line of work are you in, Loras?" Robert asked

"I'm a photographer, I do freelance, but I mainly do it for my family's publishing company"

"So you're from that Tyrell family, eh?" Robert laughed 

"Yes sir" he said

"I think I met your brother once or twice" Robert said

"Oh? Which one?"

"Uh, the army one, lost a leg I remember?" 

"Willas, he's my oldest brother." Loras said. Renly had expected him to take offense to Robert being so brash, but he took it in stride.

"Do you have a large family, Loras?" Stannis asked. Demanded would be more of the word, but everything Stannis said sounded like a demand

"Fairly." Loras said "I have two older brothers, Willas and Garlan, and a younger sister, Margaery." 

"And a ton of cousins and a scary grandmother." Renly laughed

"She's not that scary."

"Oh yes she is." 

Cersei smiled thinly "Dinner will be in about a hour, and I suspect you are both tired. Perhaps you'd like to settle in a bit before you eat?" She asked  
"Oh that'd be amazing, thank you." Renly said, standing up.

"We've put you in your old bedroom, do you remember where to find it?" She asked

"I definately remember how to get there from the window." Renly laughed as he headed to the stairs.

\-------------------------------------

Loras dropped his bag by the door

"So this is your childhood bedroom." He said, looking around. It was a fairly large room, and it didn't seem like much had changed. There were still pictures on a cork board on the wall, as well as a couple posters of 90s bands that only Renly would have posters of. There was a queen sized bed with a grey duvet on it that Renly had sprawled out on as soon as he got in.

"Yep." He said "Where the magic happened."

Loras looked over at the pictures on the desk 

"Are these your parents?" Loras asked

Renly lifted his head "Yeah."

"God, you have your dad's hair." 

Renly laughed "We all do. Got the hair and the eyes, but everyone always said I took after the Estermont side."

"You don't have any pictures at home."

"No, I suppose I never grabbed them when I left. Didn't think about it,"

"Oh man, baby picture," Loras said, picking up a silver framed picture of a baby with a tiny tuft of black hair "you were chubby" 

"Oh god, not those. I kept you for five years without you seeing baby pictures."

Loras grinned and picked up another, "Are those your brothers?" He asked. The photo was two teenagers with Renly holding their hands and swinging between them 

"I forgot about that one. Yeah."

"Wow, you guys are pretty far apart, age wise." Loras said

"About 15 years from Robert. Nothing says 'you were an accident!' Like a 15 year age difference."

"Ouch." Loras said

"True though." Renly said, scooting over as Loras came and sat on the bed next to him.

"So, did that go as badly as you thought?"

"No. But the night's still young and the booze hasn't come out yet." Renly said 

"Robert seemed nice" 

"Surprisingly." Renly said "I dunno, maybe he is trying."

"Stannis seemed..."

"Like a frigid dick?" 

"I was going to say suspicious of me, but I suppose that works." Loras said

"They hasn't even started the interrogation." 

"I think I can handle the whole 'you hurt my brother and I'll hurt you' talk"

"But when Stannis makes threats like that, they come true."

"Then I'll be sure not to hurt you." Loras said "God help any boy that tries to date his daughter."

"Oh yes." Renly said "You have no idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the adventure begins! Next up: where did Tommen go? Did the writer just completely forget about him because she's writing this at one in the morning? Only time will tell. 
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and kudos! I didn't expect to have a big reaction to this, but I'm glad you guys like it! More chapters will be up soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Renly changed into nicer clothes before dinner and came downstairs before Loras. Stannis was the only one sitting in the living room. Renly came and sat across from him, putting his feet on the coffee table.

“Renly, don’t put your feet on the table.” Stannis said 

He laughed “It’s like nothing has changed” 

Stannis actually smiled a bit and looked at him “How have you been, Renly?” he said

“Good, yeah.” Renly said “You know I’m actually happy I came here.”

“I’m happy you decided to come.” Stannis said “Renly… I’ve been meaning to say..”

“No, no, no, we’re not apologizing. Not doing it.” Renly said 

“Why must you always be this stubborn?” Stannis said, rubbing his brow in frustration

“Stannis, I’m not angry at you, alright?” he said “I don’t care.”

Stannis sighed “Fine.”

They sat in silence for a while.

“Tell me about this boy.” Stannis said 

“What about him?” Renly said 

Stannis sighed “Work with me here. I’m making an effort. When did you meet?”

Renly looked at him suspiciously “In the last semester of my sophomore year. We were in the same journalism class.” 

“And he treats you well?” Stannis said 

“Yeah. Definitely. 

“And you’re not lying like you did with the one you had when you were living with us?” Stannis said

Renly sighed “No. I am not lying. Loras is good, he’s kind and gentle and he makes me laugh… Honestly, he’s the best thing that could have happened to me.”

“Good. I didn’t want to have to threaten to have another one killed.” Stannis said and stood up, heading to the dining room

Renly laughed and followed him “See, I knew you interfered.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The dinner consisted of three courses from some pretentious cook of Cersei’s. It started off with a spinach salad with strawberries, almonds, bacon and goat cheese that Loras enjoyed but Renly picked at, but he was never a green food eater. The main course was a rosemary and garlic roasted lamb chop with a side of white asparagus. Tommen seemed to sniffle at the idea of eating a lamb, to which Joffrey mocked him for. Renly was starting to dislike his oldest nephew. Cruelty was a common trait in seventeen year old boys, but it didn’t have its usual subtle undertones with Joffrey. He seemed to want to pick a fight with anybody, and he had no “pick on somebody your own size” instinct. The only exception was Robert, who seemed to be the only person who could keep the kid in line. At least somebody could, Renly figured. The boy just had too much of the personality of his grandfather, Tywin with none of the advantages of the man’s intelligence or subtlety. Renly had met Tywin Lannister once or twice, and was honestly terrified of him. He had the arrogance of a Baratheon on his side, though, so he wouldn’t let it show to his face and ended up pissing off the man. He was eight. 

“So what have you been up to recently, Robert?” Renly asked halfway through the second course 

“Well I’ve been kept busy with the campaign for the most part” Robert said, taking another bite of lamb 

“Campaign?” Renly asked, raising an eyebrow “You’re getting into politics?” 

“Didn’t Stannis tell you? Yes, I’ll be running for Senate this fall.” He said 

“Stannis did not. Why politics?” 

“Well, dad always talked about getting into it, and now that I’ve changed my lifestyle, quit drinking, I thought I’d take a crack at it.” 

“You’re sober, too?” Renly said, genuinely shocked. Robert had been drunk from the day their parent’s died and realized there was a liquor cabinet that now belonged to him. “When did that happen?”

“Haven’t had a drink in two years” Robert said proudly. He pulled a chip from his pocket and handed it to Renly “It’s been rough though.”

Renly looked at it for a moment before handing it back. Myrcella was beaming at her father proudly 

“Wow. Congrats, I suppose. I never thought I’d see the day, honestly.” 

“Me either.” Robert laughed

“And a senator, too. That’d be big.” Renly said. He looked at Loras a bit nervously. He felt like they were getting to why Stannis had asked them to come. 

“Yes it would” Robert said, looking at Stannis “Look, Renly. We need you.”

“Need me… For what, exactly?” Renly asked

“We need to look like a loving, functional family, God help us.” Robert said “Which includes you, and now Loras.”

Loras picked his battle carefully, and this seemed to be one “So you only want to see your brother because suddenly he’s useful to your public image ratings?” 

“It’s not like that, I promise you. I’ve been talking about calling you up for years, Renly, but this was just… The final push, I suppose.” Robert said 

“Not the need to reconnect with the brother you kicked out at the age of eighteen.” Loras snapped, not seeming to care that the whole family was staring at him

“You know nothing about that, don’t start, Tyrell.” Robert growled 

The kids were all looking from Robert to Loras uncomfortably. Renly didn’t really know what to say about all this, but eventually resolved to stop them before they got into a fist fight, because he couldn’t actually say who he thought would win.

“Stop it, both of you. I don’t want to fight. Robert, I’ll think about it, alright? But the thought of standing behind you, smiling and waving and being your minority representation really sounds a bit awful at the moment.” Renly said 

An awkward silence fell over them as everybody picked at their food and didn’t look at one another in the eye. Finally Myrcella resolved to try and fix it.  
“So… Uncle Renly, what do you do?” She asked.

“Oh, I’m… I’m a teacher. Just finished my year of student teaching and I’m hoping to get my first real year of teaching next fall.” He said, grateful for the segway out of the silence “And what are your guys’ plans after you graduate?” 

“Oh god, don’t get her started” Joffrey said, banging his head on the table.

“I want to work for the United Nations and be a public health officer” Myrcella said “I want to live in France.” 

“Huh. I’ve never heard of that before, actually.” Renly said 

“You know, my older brother works with the UN.” Loras said 

“He does? It’s fascinating work.” Myrcella said, beaming 

Renly spaced as the two of them began chatting about something or other about the UN, Tommen began excitedly talking about he wanted to either train cats or be a zookeeper. 

“The thing about cats is that they don’t want to be trained, Tommen.” Shireen explained 

“But that’s why I’d make a lot of money.” Tommen said “Because everybody would need it.”

“He does have a point.” Renly said. He was only nine, after all.

 

By the time the dessert course was brought out, they were all talking again. Loras turned to Renly and muttered 

“How is it possible that everybody was at each other’s throats fifteen minutes ago, and suddenly you’re talking like you’re a happy family from a sitcom who never fights?” 

“That, my dear, is a combination of horrible, horrible stubbornness, an unwillingness to admit that anything was ever wrong, and strict arrogance that makes it impossible to apologize for something as simple as say, socking your uncle in the face at a graduation. Which has happened. So essentially, we're Irish."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while to get done, but I have an inability to accomplish anything before 11:30 at night. 
> 
> This one was fun to write though. I enjoy writing awkward dinner scenes, I don't know why.
> 
> Also: Happy Would-Be Game of Thrones Sunday!


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm sorry for antagonizing your brother." Loras said as they were getting ready for bed that night 

"Nah, don't worry about it." Renly said "He's an idiot, he deserves it."

"Have you thought about his offer?" Loras asked

"I really don't know. I feel like he's only doing it to avoid the press going nuts trying to find what happened. I'm not a big fan of strangers prying into my personal life. Take my picture all you want, but don't ask me questions about my mother, you know?" 

Loras laughed "You like getting your picture taken too much." 

"Why else would I be in a committed relationship with a photographer?" Renly said

"Other than the argument, it wasn't all that bad." Loras said 

"It surprised me too." Renly agreed

"I saw you and Stannis talking. Good things, I hope?"

"Yeah, he asked me about you, made sure he wouldn't have to threaten to kill you and all." 

"I was expecting Stannis to be the worst of the two, really." Loras said

Renly shook his head "He was always a good brother. Not the most emotionally invested person in the world, but he did what he could to take care of me. All of our issues stemmed from Robert. Stannis was always too loyal to him."

"Are you ever planning on telling me what exactly happened with the three of you?" Loras said "because you're pretty secretive"

"I'm not secretive, it's just not a topic I enjoy talking about."

"It does seem like something I should know, however." Loras said, laying down on the bed 

"And you will. I'll just get to it later. I'm tired and I have to get up early. Are you sure you'll be okay being here with Cersei and the kids?"

"Yeah, I can handle it." 

"Thanks." Renly said, leaning in to kiss him "I love you."

"I love you too." Loras said, hitting the off switch on the lamp.

\-------------------------------------

The next morning Renly woke up early and crawled out of bed early so he didn't wake Loras. He put on the suit he had brought and went downstairs where Stannis and Robert were waiting with coffee. Renly poured himself a cup.

"We haven't been to visit them together in years." Robert said after downing the last of his cup

"It's about time we did." Stannis said. Renly nodded in agreement. They set out a few minutes later. They took Stannis' car which was parked outside of Robert's house. Stannis drove and Renly sat in the middle seat of the back, leaning forward to get a look of all the buildings. It was early enough that they beat out the traffic.

They drove for fifteen minutes and came to a graveyard outside of Medford. The three brothers grew silent as they walked through the rows of granite slabs. Towards the middle of the row, there was a larger slab with two names and they stopped. Stannis had bought flowers, but handed them to Renly as they got out of the car. Renly always held the flowers.

"Cassana Estermont-Baratheon" one side proclaimes, and on the other "Steffon Aegon Baratheon." 

Below both their names held the small obituary "Cassana and Steffon Baratheon were killed by an oncoming car on October 20th, 2000. They leave behind their three sons, Robert, Stannis and Renly Baratheon" 

Finally underneath that, a small song lyric "sing me to sleep." It was from their wedding song. They both had loved it. After they stood there in silence for a moment, Renly placed the lilacs on their mother's grave. Robert continued the tradition by putting a bottle of beer on their father's headstone. 

They didn't speak for a while, just stared at the black stones together. Finally, Robert said  
"I'm going to go pay my respects to others" 

Which both of them knew meant he was going to find Lyanna. 

Stannis looked at Renly "I'm going to find grandfather. I'm assuming you'd like to stay?" 

"Yeah. I'll meet you guys by the gates later." Renly said. Stannis clapped him on the shoulder before going off.

Renly waited for his brother to be far enough away before taking a deep breath and starting to talk

"Hey mom... Dad... It's Renly." He began, once again feeling stupid for talking to a headstone "I'm sorry I haven't come by in so long... I've been living in Washington... I know I came here last right before I left for college. Well I finished. I hope you would've been proud of me... I found somebody. Maybe I'll bring them next time. I think you'd like him. Especially you, mom." 

Renly sighed and brushed some dirt off the top of the stone

"Well... I should go. I love you." He finished, walking away before he could choke up. Renly hurried back to the gates of the cemetery where his brothers were waiting. They said nothing, just nodded to eachother and walked to the car. 

On the way home, they picked up dougnuts for the family. When they arrived, Stannis just dropped them off at the door. He had to get home to take care of Selyse. Stannis’ wife had always been sickly. She had suffered a few miscarriages before Shireen was born, and some complications with the pregnancy left her unable to have any more children. She had been diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and was now, thankfully, in remission, but she was still ill a lot. Renly clapped Stannis on the shoulder before he drove off and then followed Robert inside. In the kitchen, the kids and Loras were sitting at the table. Loras had a cup of coffee in front of him, and had his usual ‘this is way too early for humans to be awake’ look on his face. 

“Babysitting I see.” Renly said, coming behind his chair and hugging him 

“Cersei said something about going to work or doing something with a country club. I didn’t quite catch it.” Loras said “And for some reason, this one is fourteen and somehow awake and the other one is eight so of course he’s awake.”

Renly smiled at Myrcella “I thought teenagers were supposed to be zombies in the morning”

“I guess Joffrey got all of that.” She said “I like mornings”

“I do too. He thinks I’m insane” Renly said 

“No sane human being likes to be awake at six in the morning” He protested “You hardly sleep as it is, I’m half convinced you’re a robot.”

Tommen came out of the living room then, two kittens in his arms. Loras had to stop himself from making a high pitched noise. He would never hear the end of that.

“And who are these?” Renly asked, leaning down 

“This is Lady Whiskers and Ser Pounce!” he said. One of the kittens made a mewling noise 

“He got them for Christmas” Myrcella explained “He wanted three, but mother said that was overkill.” 

Loras sat on the ground next to Tommen and picked one of them up. Renly laughed. He had an irrational hatred of cats, but these were cute. 

Renly stood up and left Loras to his own devices, taking his spot at the table next to Myrcella. 

“How was the cemetery?” Myrcella asked 

“It was alright. Glad I could visit your grandparents after so long.” Renly said

“Dad takes us once a year to pay our respects. From what I’ve heard, they seemed nice” she said 

“Yeah, they were. I don’t really remember a lot about them, but they were good people.” Renly said “Hungry? We brought food.”

“Definitely.” She said with a smile and opening the box of doughnuts

“So how’s school going? You’ll be starting your what, sophomore year?” 

“Yeah. It’s good. I like my teachers. They’re nice. You know if you decide to move here, you can get a job there. They just had an opening in the English department.”

“What happened to the old teacher?” Renly asked

“She decided to retire.” Myrcella explained 

“Huh. Well it might be a tad bit odd to teach at my old high school.” Renly said with a smirk “It might be the whole idea of calling a teacher by their first name thing” 

“I suppose that would be weird.” Myrcella said 

Loras finally got up off the floor and grinned at Renly “I want one.” 

“You hate cats” Renly said

“I do. But those are kittens.” He said, picking up a doughnut 

“Which grow into cats” 

“Irrelevant” he said “Where’d your brother go, anyway? He came in and then immediately went upstairs.”

“He’s probably talking to Mr. Stark. He’s an old friend of my dad’s. They’re moving here to help with the campaign. He’s going to be dad’s campaign manager.”

“Ned’s coming?” Renly said “I haven’t heard from him in a long time.”

“They should get here on Thursday.” Myrcella said happily “We used to go on vacation with them all the time.” 

“He and Robert were best friends in high school. I was always the annoying little brother who would follow him around and beg him to play with me.” Renly laughed “It’ll be weird seeing him again.”

“I think I’ve heard his name before.” Loras said “Not from you, but in the paper or something. Maybe my dad mentioned him.”

“Maybe. Made a name for himself. The Stark’s own a winter sport’s gear company and he took it over when his dad and older brother died.” Renly said 

“Oh yeah, now I remember.” Loras said “the magazine did a huge spread on him a while ago.”

Renly smiled a bit “He’s a good guy. How many kids does he have now? He and Cat had a big family, if I remember correctly.” 

Myrcella thought for a moment “Five, I think. And they take care of their cousin Jon and a foster kid, Theon.” 

“Wow, that must be hard to keep track of.” Loras said “Seven kids in one house. I thought my parents had it hard with four.” 

“But one of those kids is you, and you count for about three.” Renly said 

“Harsh.” Loras said, pouting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Five! Sorry if this was mostly rambling, but I promise we'll hear some development and backstory in the next few chapters. And the Starks are coming soon, so keep an eye out for that!


	6. Chapter 6

Renly hasn't had this dream since he was 16.  
"We'll be home in a little while, sweetie" she tells him, brushing a loose strand of black hair out of his face "I promise."

Except he's not six. He's as he is now. He's pleading with them to stay. Begging them to stay. They go through the front door and disappear.

Then it's Robert. He's eighteen and has a duffel bag in his hand

"Oh my god, stop crying. I'll be back eventually." He says, shrugging him off "Act like a man, will you?"

Robert leaves like his parents did, Renly yelling after him, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. He sees Stannis

"Stannis, please, you're the only one left, don't go!" He yells

"I'll be home for Christmas, Renly." He says, ignoring his little brother "Cressen will take care of you." 

He leaves like the others. Renly runs through the empty house, looking for somebody. Anybody. He sees elderly Cressen leaving with a sad smile. He was old, had to go to a nursing home... He's desperate for somebody, anybody. He's running from room to empty room, but he's all alone.

And then he sees Loras. He's standing next to a door.

"No, no please, don't leave me" he pleads

"I'll be back in a little while. I promise." 

Loras tells him. He turns his back...

Renly jolts awake at the feel of Loras shaking him. Renly is panting and he feels the sting of tears in his eyes

"Renly, it's okay! You're alright, it was just a dream!" Loras said, pulling him into his arms to reassure Renly that he was awake.

"Oh god, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I haven't had a dream like that in years..."

Loras' eyes are panicked and filled with concern. "What was it?" he asked

"It was... It's a reoccurring dream... I had it a lot when I was a kid... It's just people leaving. It starts with my parents and then my brothers, and Cressen, and then you were there..." Renly said, swallowing the lump in his throat "I'll be fine. It's just a dream." 

Loras hugs him tighter, resting his chin on Renly's shoulder. "I'll never do that to you." He said

"I know." Renly said, still a bit shaky as he let Loras hold him closer "Thank you."   
They lay there for a while before Renly finally said "Go back to sleep, I'm going to go get some air."

Loras furrowed his brow "Alright..." he said.  
Renly moved from Loras' arms and left the room. He headed downstairs and noticed a light was on in the kitchen. 

He stuck his head in and saw Cersei sitting at the island counter with a glass of wine in her hands. 

Renly looked at her and she glanced up and simply said "Your brother snores."

He nodded "Bad dream" he explained. She looked uninterested but didn't object when he sat down across from her. 

"I can't say it's been pleasant seeing you around here again." Cersei said after a while of them sitting in silence

"Oh? Well it's been a bit weird for me too." 

"You were a horrible teenager." She said "that year you lived with us"

"To be honest, you were a psycho pregnant woman." Renly said. She sniggered and took another sip of wine.

"I thought you were gone for good." Cersei said 

"I did too." Renly said "But I was convinced otherwise."

Cersei finished her glass and stood up   
"I don't like you." she said, setting the glass down "goodnight."

Renly sat, mildly bewildered at the offhandedness of the comment. To be honest he didn't particularly like Cersei, either. He had every reason to. When Robert and Cersei married, they moved to the family estate, where Renly had been living. Renly was sixteen at the time. Cersei was far from happy about sharing a house with her new brother in law.

Renly was accustomed to a certain amount of freedom, what with his caretaker being a rather elderly man who could never really keep up with Renly, but now he suddenly had boundaries. To make matters worse, Stannis decided to become more involved in Renly's life to make sure that he wouldn't be influenced by Robert's bad habits. Cersei made it her mission in life to spite Renly in everything he did, so in return, he turned up the teenaged melodrama to obnoxious standards. This continued for a year, until Cersei caught Renly in a... Compromising situation and wasted no time in telling Robert. Things got messy after that, and he hated even thinking about it. There was still some lingering resentment towards her, but he would never be forwardly aggressive about it. He just made jokes which pissed her off to no end. 

Renly sighed and looked at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning, and there was little chance of actually going back to sleep, but he returned to his room anyway so Loras wouldn't worry about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a little while longer than I usually do, but I spent all day yesterday celebrating my lovely girlfried's birthday.
> 
> Now were getting into some more development! The best kind. And don't worry, the Starks will be here in the next chapter, but I wanted a bit of a filler
> 
> As always, let me know what you think and who you'd like to see more of! Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

The Starks would be arriving soon, and the house was being prepped for an extravagant party. Along with the Starks and all the Baratheons, the Lannisters would all be in attendance (much to Roberts dismay) and a huge number of other esteemed guests. 

The annoyance of his in laws coming was diminished slightly by Robert seeing Ned again. Ned Stark had been Robert's best friend since high school. He was always the level headed introvert to Robert's wild party animal. Stannis had always remarked with some jealousy that Robert treated Ned more like a brother than he did to his own siblings, to which Robert said nothing. Renly was excited to see Ned too. As a kid, Renly had always seen him with Robert and had hero-worshipped them equally. 

Renly was half expecting Robert to go into a child-like state and jump up and down until Ned got here. He was hiding his excitement well. He was sitting in the living room near Renly and Stannis, and the only visible signs of his being anxious was the occasional check of his watch and his leg bouncing up and down.

"It must be weird seeing someone for the first time in years." Myrcella said

Robert grinned "Weird, yes, but good." 

"It must be weird for him, seeing a respectable adult instead of what he saw last." Renly said

"What was he like as a teenager?" Myrcella asked

"Oh no. No, no, we're not telling any of those stories."

"Oh come on! What about that time where mum and dad took Stannis on a college visit for the weekend..." Renly started

"Especially not that one." Robert warned 

"Party of the century they called it." Renly continued "Although I remember it as the worst game of hide and seek ever."

Myrcella laughed and Stannis cracked a rare smirk. 

"I will pay you cash money if you don't tell my daughter this story." Robert said 

"Oh it’s not that bad. They only found you on the roof!" Renly said "Granted, it wasn't our roof, but..."

Robert leaned over and lightly hit Renly's chin.

"Stannis, he's hitting me." Renly laughed

"Hey, don't drag me into this." 

"My own brother won't defend me from him? Stannis I'm offended."

"I figured at 24, my baby brother can take care of himself." 

"Mean." Renly said, swatting away Robert thing to hit him again "Myrcella, your father is cruel." 

She laughed. The childish fooling around ended when the doorbell rang. Robert was up like a shot, pausing to compose himself so he could act like an adult.  
Robert opened the door and grinned at his old friend.

Ned Stark looked a lot older than Renly remembered, but he supposed that's because he hadn't seen him in so long. His brown hair was grown out long, and was streaked with grey, as well as his short beard. He looked a bit tired, but anybody would look like that if they had driven for three days with five children. Ned grinned as Robert brought him into a hug. Slowly, they all began to pile into the house. Renly found Catelyn, Ned’s wife, first and hugged her. He had known her since he was a little kid. She would even babysit him from time to time.

"Oh you've gotten so tall!" She laughed. Renly grinned 

"It’s fantastic to see you!" Renly said as they walked into the living room.

"Oh you too!" She said "Come, you have to meet the kids." 

She looked around, trying to get a view of her children with all the chaos. 

"I'll take a wild guess and say that all the gingers are yours?" Renly laughed

"Yes, very true." She pointed to two girls "the older one is Sansa and the younger is Arya.. and the little red headed one over there is Rickon, the youngest"

She pointed them out one by one "Robb, come over here!"

The oldest one of the bunch came over "Robb, this is Renly, he's Robert's brother." Robb smiled and shook his hand

"Robb just turned seventeen" she said "Where is your cousin and Theon?" She asked him. 

"Uhh... Jon's over in the back and I think Theon is still outside." He said 

She sighed "That boy. Renly, we'll catch up in a moment, I haven’t, to wrangle the children." She said. Renly laughed and moved towards the stairs to go retrieve Loras from the bedroom.  
He stuck his head in. Loras was on the phone, a wide grin on his face.

"Listen, Garlan I gotta go, people are here. Congrats though. Yeah, I'll call you later. Love you." He said. He was on the phone with his older brother. He out the phone down and grinned up at Renly

"What's Garlan up to?" Renly asked

"I'm going to be an uncle!" He said excitedly

"Leonette's pregnant?" Renly said, smiling

"Yes! Two months, they just started telling people." Loras laughed 

"Good for them! Your mother must be freaking out." 

"He said she's already talking about planning a nursery for them." Loras laughed, standing up 

"I bet Willas gets the kid a puppy." Renly laughed 

"I wouldn't put it past him to buy it a pony."

Renly loved the Tyrells. They lived in Portland, only an hour or so from Renly and Loras' apartment in Seattle, so the two of them would go visit them often. They'd welcomed Renly as family, encouraging Loras to bring him over for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Willas, Loras' eldest brother was a former Army officer, but had lost a leg in combat and was sent home. Now he bred show animals, mostly dogs and horses. Garlan worked for the UN with international relations, and wrote the occasional article for one of their families' publications. He and Leonette Fossoway had been married for a few years now, and had both really wanted to have kids for a while. Renly was happy they were finally having one. He knew Loras was over the moon. He loved kids, and he loved his family more than anything. 

"I'll have to call them tomorrow and say congratulations." Renly smiled "The Starks are here, if you want to come down." 

Loras continued to smile "Of course!" 

The two of them made their way downstairs and found everybody scattered about, mingling. God, there were a lot of Starks. Ned came over when he saw them come down the stairs 

“Renly!” he said, laughing and giving him a hug, clapping his shoulder “And who’s this?”

“This is my boyfriend, Loras Tyrell.” Renly said. Loras took Ned’s hand 

“It’s great to meet you, sir.” Loras said, smiling like a fucking Disney prince. Renly always joked that he could charm anybody with that smile. 

Ned chuckled “I always guessed. Any friend of Renly is a friend of mine, Loras.” 

Loras laughed “So have you met the kids yet?” he asked

“I met Robb.” Renly said “Haven’t been introduced to the rest of the flock yet.”

He laughed and turned around, calling some of the children over. The two girls that Cat had pointed out to Renly came up, as well as a younger boy.

“This is Sansa, my eldest daughter, and Arya, and this is Bran” Ned said. Sansa smiled sweetly, blushing a bit when Loras smiled back “This is Renly, he’s Robert’s youngest brother and an old friend of mine. And his boyfriend Loras.”

“Hi.” Arya said, disinterestedly. Sansa nudged her sister to get her to be polite

“It’s nice to meet you” she said, shaking their hands. Bran did the same. 

“How old are all you guys?” Renly asked out of curiosity 

“Lets see, Robb is seventeen, as well as Theon on Jon. Jon’s my nephew and Theon’s our foster son. Sansa here is sixteen, Arya and Bran are fifteen, and Rickon is fourteen.” Ned said 

“Yikes that’s a large group of teenagers” Loras laughed

“They can be quite a handful. They’re good kids, though.” Ned said proudly “I hope Robert didn’t plan too big of a party tonight. He’s been known to do that.”

“I’m assuming no fewer than fifty people will show up.” Renly said. Ned sighed and laughed a bit

“Moderation is not in that man’s vocabulary, eh?” he said. Renly shook his head. “Well I should go find him. Kids, stay out of trouble.” 

They nodded “So you guys want to go to the basement?” Renly asked “It’s where all the cool stuff is, I expect Myrcella and Shireen are down there. Who knows where Joffrey is.” 

Sansa smiled sweetly “That would be lovely, thank you.” 

Arya punched Bran’s arm “Go get Rickon and them.” She said 

He stuck his tongue out at her, but obliged, running to get their other brothers. A moment later, they all assembled and went down a corridor and down a flight of stairs to the basement. The room was huge, with all kinds of entertainment. There was a rather impressive big screen TV and a massive couch, as well as a foosball table and dart board. When Renly was growing up, it was an unfinished storage area, but Robert had turned it into the entertainment room in the last few years. As expected, Myrcella and Shireen were down here, and rather unexpectedly, Joffrey was too. The kids were left to mingle, and Renly noticed Sansa giggling with Joffrey. It was odd. That was the first time Renly had seen Joffrey smile since they got here. It concerned him. 

Renly and Loras got to the end of the corridor and Renly heard a distinct laugh “Oh shit.”

Concerned, Loras turned to look at him “What?”

“The Lannisters are here.” Renly said 

“What’s wrong with that?” Loras said “I mean I’ve only met Cersei, but she’s not that bad.”

“If Tywin Lannister is here, I trust you to let me hide from him for the rest of the night.” Renly said

“What’s so bad about him?”

Renly looked at him as if he had asked what color the sky was “He’s terrible. I have never seen the man smile, not even at his daughter’s wedding. Honestly, Loras, he… He scares the shit out of me.” 

Loras laughed “I think you can handle an old man.” 

“I pissed him off when I was sixteen. I bet he’s plotting revenge.”

“You are a grown man. Come on, you can handle him.”

“Fine. But another warning, don’t get into a drinking contest with Cersei’s little brother. He’ll surprise you.” Renly said 

Loras looked at him “Your family gets weirder every time I met more of them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry it took so long to write this chapter, I've been super busy! I had my birthday and college visits and all that jazz. But I will be back to a somewhat regular updating schedule soon! 
> 
> But I'd like to thank you guys SO SO much for getting this fic to a THOUSAND HITS! I appreciate it so much and I can't thank you enough!
> 
> And so the Starks arrive! We'll get to the party next time. And yes, Jaime and Tyrion will be there
> 
> I made some changes for the sake of plot later on, mostly the ages of the characters. While I kept the age gap between Renly and his brothers similar, I changed the ages for the Starks because in the books, Cat is a lot younger than she typically would be if she continued to have kids. So I aged them up.
> 
> I also changed Jon in that, as far as he knows, he is the son of Ned's brother Brandon, and his mother is also dead. I did this because in a modern society, it's be a lot more frowned upon to have love children.
> 
> Theon is their foster child, taken in my the Starks when his father was arrested after a stand off with police that killed both of his bothers. His sister lived and chose to live with her mother's family.


	8. Chapter 8

Cpt8   
Stannis had done his duty and greeted the Lannisters and was now standing awkwardly at the edge of the party. Shireen was standing in the living room, talking a bit with one of the Stark boys. The youngest one. He had watched the boy suspiciously for a little while, but his daughter was actually talking with somebody she just met, which was rare for her, so he didn't confront the boy. 

  
Davos, the one person Stannis would consider his friend, was supposed to be here with his sons, too. But he had called earlier and said that he would be late.

   
Sick of standing in the same spot, Stannis moved to the kitchen, where he found Loras. Stannis didn't quite know what to think of Renly's knew boyfriend. He seemed very arrogant and gave off the air of somebody who thought he was better than everybody. Still, he seemed better than others Renly had. 

  
Renly's teenaged years had been a bit of a disaster. They had occurred right after the massive fiasco after the death of Lyanna Stark, when Robert tracked down and damn near beat Rhaegar Targaryen to death. After that, Robert had fallen into a horrible depression and began drinking heavily. Stannis had been in the navy at the time, but decided that he needed to get out in order to help his brother. Stannis had come back to Boston to find that Robert had accidentally gotten Cersei Lannister pregnant, and her father was demanding they get married to save her reputation. Renly was 16 at the time, and living in the family estate, which Cersei and Robert moved into before Joffrey was born. It was quite lifestyle change for Renly who had lived with only an elderly caretaker since he was 9. Stannis had tried to do the responsible thing and take care of his little brother, but he was convinced that he could take care of himself. 

  
Until one day, a few months after Joffrey was born, Renly showed up at Stannis' door with a duffle bag and a black eye, asking if he could move in. Stannis and Selyse had just married and Shireen was on the way, but Stannis obliged, finding a room for his little brother, but he demanded to know what happened. After some pestering and fighting, Renly buckled. He was gay, he finally said, and Cersei had caught him and a boy... Indecent when he thought they weren't home. She, never liking having Renly in their house in the first place, had told Robert. Renly and Robert ended up fighting and the elder was very drunk and hit him and demanded Renly get out of his house. And, having nowhere else to go, he had come to Stannis. That day was the first time he'd seen Renly look defeated since he had clung to Stannis' leg as they buried their parents. It had come as a surprise to Stannis. All of it. He really didn't know how to treat him or anything. Here he was preparing to have a baby, and suddenly he was responsible for an emotional 16 year old boy. That year and a half was difficult. Renly didn't have enough boundaries, as Stannis and Selyse were preoccupied with Shireen. The boy seemed to have low self esteem for the first time in his life, and brought the worst people home. He never actually introduced Stannis to these boys, but just from coming and going, he could tell they were no good. Stannis could never say any of this to Renly because he would just roll his eyes and him. It was infuriating. The brother's worst fight happened before Renly went off to college. Robert always referred to it as the start to the Cold War. 

  
Stannis only hoped that his brother's taste for men had evolved in that time. He supposed he would never know until he talked to him, though. Sighing, Stannis walked over and stood next to Loras, who smiled. Why did he always smile?

  
"Mr. Baratheon, hello." Loras said

  
"Stannis is fine. I'm Renly's brother, not his father."

 

Loras laughed "You act like his father though."

  
"I suppose." Stannis said. An awkward silence fell on them and Loras took a sip of his beer. 

  
"So, are you enjoying Boston?" Stannis supplied, trying to start conversation 

  
"Yeah, yeah, it's a cool city. Renly showed me around a little bit."

  
Stannis said "Some find it boring."

  
"Nah, my dad was a history nerd, so I suppose he taught us how to appreciate this kind of place."

  
"You have a good relationship with your father?" Stannis said, trying to keep the conversation going

  
"Very good." Loras said "My whole family is pretty close."

  
"Must be odd seeing us, I suppose." Stannis said

  
"A little. I'm happy Renly gave it another go with you all." Loras said "Family is important, I know I couldn't go as long as you guys did without talking to my siblings."  
"We've always been stubborn." Stannis said 

  
Loras chuckled "I knew he got it from somewhere."

  
Stannis smiled a bit "You seem like a good kid. I practically raised him you know."

  
"Oh?" Loras said

  
"Before I went off to college. He was so young. Never listened to a damn thing I said." Stannis said

  
Loras smiled "What was he like? As a kid, I mean."

  
"Annoying." Stannis said, but he was smiling "Used to follow Robert and me around, begging us to play with him. 'Look at me, I'm a knight! I'm a pirate! I'm a king!' He used to do that a lot. Tried to get our friends to play with him when they came over."

  
Loras laughed 

  
"Occasionally we'd indulge him. He lived for it." Stannis had a wistful look in his eyes 

  
"You know, he'd never tell you this, but I really think he missed you." Loras said

  
Stannis smirked "I'm glad." He picked up a bottle of water from the table and began to walk away.

  
Myrcella was chatting with one of the Stark boys and Sansa Stark. Shireen was hanging around the edges, really wishing she was at home. He clutched the book tighter in her hand, wishing she actually knew what to do at these things. Especially with kids her own age. She had been talking to Rickon, the youngest Stark who was around her age, but he had gone off and Shireen didn't want to go looking for him for fear that he would think she was stupid for being so eager. She was half tempted to ask her father if they could leave early, but he was talking with Loras and she didn't want to interrupt. She was just about to go find a spare bedroom to hide in when Rickon found her again.

  
"Shireen! Sorry I ran off, mom wanted me to find Arya for her."

  
"Oh, it's not a big deal!" She said, her face turning red. They stood for a little bit, each not sure what they should say

  
"So, uh, what are you reading?" He asked 

  
"Oh, it's called 'Bring up the Bodies', it's about Anne Bolyn and Thomas Cromwell." Shireen said, embarrassed that she didn't have a more normal book with her at the time.  
"Is it good?" Rickon asked

  
"I'm enjoying it, yeah." Shireen muttered, still red. She was not good at this

  
"It sounds cool. I should look it up . Hey, do you have a phone number? Maybe... Maybe I can text you or something? We can talk about books.. If you want..." Rickon said, suddenly sounding nervous. Shireen nodded and gave him the number. Rickon smiled

  
"I'm going to go get some food, I'll talk to you later." He said

  
As he walked away, Shireen just stared after him until her Uncle Renly came up behind her 

  
"Oh no. My baby niece cannot be interested in boys yet." He said

  
"I'm not! It was just.. Talking.." She said

  
Renly laughed "I'm just messing with you. He's cute."

  
"He is?" Shireen said

  
"Yeah. And he's Ned's kid, so you know he's good."

  
"If you talk like this to my dad, I'll give baby pictures to Loras." Shireen said

 

Renly gaped at her "Oh you're good." 

  
"Yes." She said with a smile 

  
"Why don't you go get food with him and talk some more?" Renly urged

  
"No! He'll think I'm weird." 

  
"Honey, you're a Bararheon, weirdness runs in your blood." Renly laughed 

  
"Other people don't have to know that!" She argued

  
"Well, I think he'd appreciate the company." Renly said, finishing off the last of his beer

"Really?" She asked 

  
"Definitely. Go get him, Bambi." Renly said, ruffling her hair before walking off to go find Loras.

He found him in the kitchen, talking to Jaime Lannister. Renly sighed and grabbed another drink from a cooler before walking over to them.

  
"Ah, Renly, good to see you." Jaime said in his usual arrogant tone, holding out his hand. Renly shook it. Loras gave Renly a look saying 'get me out of here before I hit something' 

  
"You too, Lannister." Renly said, "I see you've met Loras."

"Yes, I have. We were just talking about sports. College soccer is a thing we both have in common." 

  
Renly nodded and gave a look to Loras

  
"We'll I won't interrupt anything. Have fun. Oh and Renly, so glad you decided to come, and with such a controversial guest." He said before stalking off

"I really hate that guy. He's a dick. I've never wanted to hit somebody that much before." Loras said

  
"The Lannisters have that effect." Renly said. He opened his new drink and took a swig.

  
"Careful. You tend to get emotional and handsy when you're drunk." Loras said

  
"Untrue."

"Remember the last party Emmon threw? You hugged like everybody." 

  
"Okay, that is true. But I'm not an emotional drunk."

  
"I have a lot of drunk voicemails you've left me that say otherwise."

  
"It'a not that bad. And I'm hardly drunk right now."

  
"Is that why your hands are on my waist?" Loras laughed

  
"Maybe I just like your waist." Renly said, leaning closer to him

  
"Not exactly a private location." Loras smirked

  
"There's nobody here." Renly argues

  
"There will be." Loras said "it's a kitchen, you see."

  
Renly kissed at his chin "We'll then, lets not be in a kitchen." 

  
"God I love it when you're drunk." Loras said, grabbing Renly's hand and dragging him into a cupboard.

 

  
A few minutes later, Tywin Lannister opened the cupboard, with Robert behind him.

  
"Mr Lannister! Hi.." Renly said, pulling away from Loras quickly and grabbing his shirt from the floor. Robert was laughing hysterically from behind the very red-faced Tywin. 

  
"You remember my brother, don't you Tywin?" He said between laughs 

  
Renly smoothed out his hair "Great to see you again, sir." He said, giggling a bit.

   
Tywin wasn't laughing, but then again, he didn't smile. "And here I was under the impression that the Baratheons were starting to take themselves seriously." 

  
Robert laughed again "Oh give it a rest, Lannister. He's a drunk 23 year old." 

  
"A grown man who you want to be a part of a political campaign. The press would have a hay-day with this 'drunk 23 year old' and his... Who are you?" Tywin snapped

  
"Uh, Loras Tyrell, sir." Loras said

  
"I'd reconsider your inclusion of this boy, Robert." Tywin said before stalking off. Loras gave Renly a look before laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ain't no party like a Baratheon party because a Baratheon party has weird situations! Lannisters never knock, much to Renly's dismay
> 
> Thank you guys so much for all kudos and such! I really appreciate it! Hope you like the chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Well then! First chapter of many more (I hope) of pretty much my headcanons for modern Baratheons. In this universe, Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen will actually be Robert's children. Robert will be running for Senate, and Stannis is his ever patient image consultant. Renly, a high school english teacher, and Loras, a photographer for his family's publishing empire, live in Seattle, the rest of the Baratheons live in Boston.


End file.
